Hinge member for loose leaves



Oct. 23, 19,34-V G. c. GARAWAY HINGE MEMBER FOR LOOSE LEAVES Filed May 6; 1933 l/IIIIIIIIIIIIIII ...Y I INVEN TOR A 560g@ 65mm/@f ATTORN EY Patented Oct. 23, 1934 errar trice HNGE MEMBER FR LOOSE LEAVES George C. Garraway, Rutherford, N. .1.

Application May 6, 1933, Serial No. 669,683

1 y Claim.

This invention relates to "improvements `in hingelike means for securing loose leaves to a stub or backing strip. While not limited thereto, the

i l inventionis particularly well suited for binding 5 loose Aleaves offairly heavy thickness between covers 4vor folders of a catalog. In the binding of fairly heavy sheets, it is important to provide a hinge member which will permit Athe center leaves to be opened out fiat. Particularly where photographs are to be bound incatalog form, dificulty has been experienced because the bending' of the body sheet of the photograph itself repeatedly along a given line will tend to develop a crack and eventually a break will occur. Cloth back ings have been used, but these are objectionable because there is insuflicient flexibility to permit leaves to open out flat particularly when a great number of them are held together in a binder. My invention overcomes the above and other shortcomings of prior practice.

A characteristic feature of the invention resides in the provision of a hinge-like member which can be produced in long lengths and sold f as a separate article of manufacture to binders 25 or dealers. The improved hinge member includes a stub having a cloth strip secured thereto, which in turn is united by a line of stitching to another strip spaced from the first, the second strip being adapted to be pasted or otherwise secured to a loose leaf such as a photograph or the like.

'Ihe invention will be fully apparent from the following specication when read in connection with the accomapnying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective View showing a portion of a loose leaf having my improved hinge member secured thereto, the thickness of the parts being exaggerated in the interest of clearness;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a loose leaf secured to a hinge member of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional View showing the hinge member before it is secured to a loose leaf;

Fig. 4 is a modification, wherein the backing stub is entirely covered with a cloth strip;

Fig. 5 is a face view of two strips stitched together before bending;

Fig. 6 is a cross section on line 6 -6 of Fig. 5 50 with a dotted showing illustrating a manner of forming the improved hinge;

Fig. '7 is a perspective View of the hinge strip constituting an article of manufacture ready fo-r use and sale;

Fig. 8 is a somewhat diagrammatic view illus- (c1. 12a-i9) -trating a plurality of loose leaves having hinges of rny invention and secured between the cover members of a binder.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 10 represents a leaf or page of a catalog. For example, it may be regarded as a fairly heavy piece of paper stock having a photograph or printed matter thereon. To the rear edge of the page, there is secured a cloth strip 12 which, as shown in Fig. 2, is of substantially iJ--shape in cross section. The member 12 is secured to another strip 14 of similar shape in cross section, the two strips being united at a multiplicity of points by the bridging thread portions 16. The U-shaped strip 14L embraces and is adhesively united to the opposite faces of a stub 18 formed usually of paper of about the same thickness as that of the loose leaf 10. The stub 18 may be provided at a plurality of points with perforations, one of which is shown at 21 in Fig. 1. y

The improved hinge of my invention is formed by sewing together two hat cloth strips, indicated at 12' and lll' in Figs. 5 and 6 by a line of stitching 16. The cloth strips are impregnated with a suitable ller so that they are not iiimsy. In other words, they have a certain inherent stiffness. After the two strips are sewed together along the line of stitching 16', they are bent around to substantially U-shape, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 6. Prior to such bending, however, in some cases, I preferably apply an adhesive to the exposed outer faces while the strips are in the condition shown in Fig. 6. When the opposite inner faces of the strip 14' are engaged with the opposite faces of the stub 18, they will be adhesively united. The bending over operation slightly separates the two strips so that there is a space between them. This space is bridged by the thread-like portions 16 of the line of stitching. Thus, there is produced an article of manufacture such as shown in Fig. 3, the inner faces 20 having a coating of adhesive thereon. This adhesive may be of such character that it will dry upon exposure to air, and, when it is moistened, its adhesive qualities will be restored so as to facilitate the uniting of the strip to the leaf 10.

In Fig. 3, I have illustrated the hinge member of my invention, in which the cloth strips, of which the parts ifi and 16 are formed, are of the 105 same width. However, in some cases, the cloth strip to be secured to the stub member may be slightly wider, as indicated in Fig. 4, so as to cover the full width of the stub. In this case, the perforation 20 will of course extend through the 110 cloth strip and the paper stub, thus the cloth reinforces the perforated opening.

The hinge strips of my invention are adapted to be'bound between covers such as indicated at 22 and 24 of any suitable type of loose leaf binder and the post or fastening device 25 being adapted to pass through the holes 21 or 20' so as to hold the pages in place. When the several leaves are held between the backing portions 26 and 28 of the binder, it will be noted that the thread portions 16 formed by the line of stitching are located a substantial distance from the center vline of the post. This permits of a certain amountof flexing of the stub member 18 when the book is opened. This flexing coupled with the limp connection afforded by the threadportions 16 which hingedly unite strips 12 and 14 provides an arrangement wherein the pages of the book, when opened out to any point, will lie `fiat. Moreover, repeated turning of the pages or leaves will have no tendency to scar or weaken them, this strain being taken by the multiplicity of connecting threads formed by the line of stitching 16'. Thus, it will be apparent that my invention overcomes certain shortcomings of prior practice and also that itprovides a new article of manufacture in thevform of a hinge-like element, whichfcan be readily secured to the leaves or pages to be bound in book form.

Y The invention, while well suited for use in loose leaf binders, is of course not limited thereto since it can be readily adapted to the binding of pages permanently between suitable covers.

While I have described quite specifically the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated it is not to be construed that I am limitedthereto since various modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as dened in the appended claim.

What I claim is:-

An article of manufacture of the class described comprising a pair of substantially parallel cloth strips with a space between them, each bent to U-shape in cross section, a line of stitching hingedly uniting them and bridging said space, and a paper stub secured between the inner opposite faces of one of said vU-shaped strips, the other of said strips having an adhesive coating by means of Which it= can be readily secured'to a loose leaf, said strips being impregnated with a stiffening material and being relatively thinner than said stub.

.GEORGE C. GARRAWAY. 

